ANGRY Mainstreet home buyer
John Hungerford
"Bryan" <dind...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:8ohkhs$sqt$1...@galaxy.us.dell.com...
> I just wanted to let everyone know who buys a new house to make sure and
ask
> if you will be in a neighborhood that has a privately owned sewage system.
>
> I just moved into a Mainstreet home out on FM 685 and CR 138 called "The
> Ridge at Steeds Crossing". The home is nice enough, but when I asked the
> salesperson if the neighborhood was in a MUD, he said it wasn't. When I
> received my first SEWER bill (it is all by itself and not included with
any
> other utility bill), I was shocked to have an $86 dollar SEWER bill. $50
of
> that was for the deposit. I never heard of having to pay a deposit on a
> sewer system. The rest was a prorated bill of $36. My next bill will be
an
> astounding $40.40. This is a flat rate and the bill is not based on how
> much water that you use.
>
> I talked to the head salesperson at Mainstreet who was the rudest person I
> have had to deal with since I purchased my home in July. He was totally
> callous and unfeeling about the whole situation. What I am trying to find
> out is if anyone else has had similar situations. If so, please email me
at
> dind...@yahoo.com.
>
> Mainstreet also failed to tell me that the water at Steed's Crossing is 4
> times harder than Austin water. I had to spend $1300 on a water softener.
> Talk about lots of surprises with Mainstreet. They are very sweet at
> first, in fact, they are VERY nice at first, but after you buy the home,
> they don't give a rats ass about you.
>
> Spread the word,
>
> Bryan
>
>
Wick Tobias
handled your complaint in a professional manner. You need to accept some of
the responsibility, however, for not asking the right questions. There are
a number of books available about avoiding the pitfalls of buying a home,
and you should have (if you didn't) contacted other Main Street home owners
in Steed's Crossing to learn their experiences with builder and community
b4 signing the contract.
Before you get too upset about the sewer bill, you ought to determine if it
is totally out of line with alternatives. We pay $1800 a year MUD tax plus
$125 plus each month for water and sewer. The deposit is involved with most
utilities and protects against default.
If you want to buy a new starter home, Mainstreet is one of the few acts in
town. In order to sell their houses for what they do, they trim costs in a
number of ways. That's not to say that you don't get acceptable quality
with Mainstreet, and they serve an important role in getting people into
their first house--but you, as most, will undoubtedly go a different route
with your next house.
If your complaints are the main extent of your experience with Main Street,
I would suggest that your financial pain is minimal compared to sewer cost
alternatives, you would have had the same water hardness problems in Round
Rock--which was your other primary alternative for getting into lower priced
homes--and get on with life.
Wick Tobias
(pf and rr property owner)
Bill Hawk
austin.internet?
If you don't like where you live, please move.